The profitability of the industry is a compelling argument for entrepreneurs looking for lucrative business solutions and wanting to start their own project in the gambling sector. By the way, in 2023, it surpassed $540 billion.
If you are reading this article, you are probably here for a reason. Whether you are interested in promoting online casinos or planning to start your own business in the gambling niche, the following material will be useful.
Today, we will talk about something less obvious: the importance of a thorough SEO analysis for the correct choice of GEO (geographic location) for an online casino and building a working strategy for your online business. Make yourself comfortable.
Gambling is a general term that includes both online games and betting.
Many online casino sites often offer both options, so I will use the term “gambling” to refer to both types of gambling activities.
The first thing you will have to deal with is market selection. And it is quite broad: from the established markets of the G7 countries to still developing economies. Although the profitability of casinos varies by region, there is no place on the map where such a business is absolutely unprofitable. This is evidenced by the diagram below.
The abundance of available GEOs for online casinos presents new investors and entrepreneurs looking to enter this field with an important question: “Where will my business operate?”
Thorough research in this context cannot be overestimated, as the correct choice of jurisdiction is crucial for the success and profitability of investments.
The choice of market is determined by many factors, including the operator’s experience, market size, potential revenue growth, language, and player preferences. The complexity of entry and subsequent success will vary significantly and depends on:
Let’s consider each aspect in more detail.
Let’s start with the basics. Currently, there is a clear trend towards the legalization of gambling worldwide. Scientific research shows that 80% of countries (164 out of 193) allow various types of gambling. However, the laws regulating the gambling industry differ from one jurisdiction to another. More legal markets are emerging, opening new opportunities for investors.
Having a license to operate an online casino is crucial. Without it, you will face several problems.
Without a license, cooperation with reputable banks and payment services is not possible. This results in difficulties with the deposit and withdrawal of players’ funds (the latter being less of a concern for operators). The reality is that no casino wants players to withdraw money easily.
A license protects an online casino from being blocked by government regulatory agencies and telecom operators and ensures consumer rights protection for players.
The absence of a license for an online casino leads to serious legal consequences for both the casino itself and its users. In many countries where online gambling is legalized and iGaming sites are permitted, the activities of unlicensed casinos are prohibited.
Possible consequences of operating without a license include:
Unlicensed online casinos are doomed to mistrust from players, as experienced gamblers always prioritize a license over immediate bonuses and promotions. Considering that the number of players and online casinos increases annually, losing even one player results in lost profits.
The absence of legal status casts a shadow of doubt, and players aware of the risks are not willing to gamble their money on dubious platforms.
Note that an online casino license comes in two types.
| Local | Issued by the regulator in the country where the casino operates. For example, to conduct business in Poland, an online casino must have a Polish license. |
| International | Issued by gambling commissions recognized worldwide and authorized by the governments of individual countries. |
Let’s consider the features of several popular international licenses.
A popular license among young operating companies due to:
However, due to restrictions, players from the USA, France, the Netherlands, and Curacao cannot be accepted under this license.
The Isle of Man positions itself as an attractive jurisdiction for the gambling business, offering several types of licenses tailored for:
The licensing process is simple and quick, allowing operators to enter the market sooner.
They attract with easy registration and an interesting division into:
An additional advantage for operating companies is zero corporate tax and no other taxes at the start. This is very convenient while the casino is developing.
Considered one of the most prestigious licenses recognized in Europe. This is partly because Malta is the home of the iGaming industry.
MGA issues four types of licenses, but obtaining them is difficult due to:
It suits experienced operators ready to invest time and resources.
This license is also considered prestigious, second only to the USA. The obtaining process is complex and financially demanding. However, this approach ensures a high level of player reliability and security.
The AAMS license attracts regional online casinos with the opportunity to enter the global market and compensate for losses from land-based establishments. However, global reach and enhanced reputation come at a cost: expensive approval, strict rules, and regular payments.
AGCO, the regulator of Ontario province, is unique in allowing foreign companies to provide gambling services in its territory.
Instead of a traditional licensing system, AGCO has developed a special model aimed at controlling and supporting the industry while ensuring its competitiveness.
However, the absence of a license in a particular country does not always mean a ban for players. Online casino operators often use workarounds to avoid restrictions imposed by governments.
In response to these actions, regulators take various countermeasures, the most common of which is prohibiting payment systems and banks from cooperating with casinos without internal licenses.
Understanding the legal status of online gambling in different countries and jurisdictions will help avoid issues associated with registering and developing your business.
Depending on the level of strictness of online gambling legislation, countries worldwide can be divided into three groups.
| Market Type | Description | Prevalence |
| Regulated | The effect of laws legalizing online gambling and allowing operators to obtain licenses.Free access to sites from other countries for players. | 79 countries |
| Unregulated | Absence of laws regulating online gambling, making it technically illegal.Lack of regulation and licensing procedures. | 46 countries |
| Prohibited | Absence of prohibiting laws on gambling on the Internet and within the jurisdiction.The opportunity for gamblers to continue to play in offshore online casinos. | 70 countries |
You can find a detailed analysis of gambling legislation and a list of countries here.
Understanding demand and the competitive environment is crucial for success in online gambling. First and foremost, you should analyze the local specifics, namely:
There will be more differences than you might think. For example, consider Europe and Asia.
| European Market | Asian Marke |
| High level of gambling penetration.Preference for slots, roulette, and poker.Developed regulatory environment.Strong competition from major operators. | Fast-growing market with high potential.Popularity of mobile games and live sports betting.Diverse regulatory environment depending on the country.Increasing competition from local and international operators. |
A well-informed GEO choice maximizes your online gambling strategy by 100%.
According to forecasts, online gambling revenue is expected to reach $100.90 billion in 2024.
When opening a casino, choosing the right GEO is important from a payability perspective, as higher income and better quality of life mean that people have discretionary funds which can potentially be used for online gaming.
In simpler terms, the wealthier the country, the more people in it can afford to gamble.
By creating what could be called a “geography of success” chart, we can highlight two countries:
Choosing a GEO is not just a guessing game. Based on market research, audience reach, profitability levels, and other factors, countries are ranked by online casino turnover. An example of this is shown in the table below.
In summary, countries can be divided into two categories:
Notably, no countries from Asia, South America, or Africa made it into the top ten, despite some Asian countries having higher economic output and GDP per capita than some of the European countries listed.
Evaluating the profitability of an online casino is like playing chess: you need to plan your moves ahead. When assessing financial viability, two key factors should be considered:
Many sources suggest the best GEOs for online gambling in 2024 are:
Tier 1 GEO:
Tier 2 and 3 GEO:
Note. In traffic arbitration, countries are categorized (Tier) based on average metrics: payouts and audience approach.
However, is this really the case? Clearly, any entrepreneur wants to ensure the effectiveness of their investments and ventures, and thus seeks to support their choice with concrete figures and facts.
So, let’s conduct an experiment to visually demonstrate and understand the level of competition and the complexity of entering specific markets.
For the experiment, analysis was decided to be conducted in 5 English-speaking countries. The shortlist included:
The USA was excluded due to regulatory complexities (different licensing conditions in states) and domain requirements (at least 10 years since registration).
What do we have? These countries are economically developed, with high GDP, significant market volumes, and a positive industry growth trend.
Preliminary results after Step 1:
| Canada | Australia | New Zealand | Ireland | UK |
| 1 | 1 | 1 |
At this stage, the requirements for obtaining an online gambling license in the selected GEOs were analyzed.
The leaders in terms of ease of obtaining a license were New Zealand and Canada. We discussed their licenses from Curacao and Kahnawake earlier.
Preliminary results after Step 2:
| Canada | Australia | New Zealand | Ireland | UK |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Regional outreach is a link-building method aimed at obtaining links from sites relevant to the target audience in a specific region.
What do we see? In Ireland, the UK, and Canada, regional outreach is both the most accessible and financially advantageous. However, it’s not that simple.
To achieve high rankings in a particular country, you need to analyze the regional leader’s standings: domain age, number of backlinks to the regional leader’s domain, and the number of regional backlinks.
This significantly changes the situation, as domains in the UK and Canada have several hundred regional backlinks and domain ages of 10+ and 20+ years, making them highly authoritative. Competing with such established players will be challenging.
The “youngest” regional leader is a company in Australia.
Preliminary results after Step 3:
| Canada | Australia | New Zealand | Ireland | UK |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
As you will be a new player entering the market, it makes sense to consider emerging regional leaders.
First, let’s compare the search frequency for “online casino” in each GEO. We see that the UK and Canada lead in search volume. Ireland has the lowest frequency. However, the traffic of emerging regional leaders in Australia and New Zealand is the highest, due to the highest average search volume (calculated as the average sum of the search frequencies for the key queries they rank for).
It’s also important to consider the Keyword Difficulty (KD) for the main keyword “online casino.” In the UK and Canada, the KD is very high, indicating that a lot of effort and financial investment will be needed for SEO.
Preliminary results after Step 4:
| Canada | Australia | New Zealand | Ireland | UK |
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Before the final stage, we have three leaders: Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
We decide to exclude Canada due to high competition and the strong positions of existing players (old, authoritative domains).
At this stage, all focus is on the domains of the top 15 players in each GEO.
During the analysis, we focus on:
By analyzing the sites of major players based on these parameters, we can estimate the number of links needed to achieve the target traffic. This data allows us to calculate the budget and timeline required to meet the goals.
Additionally, it is useful to analyze the actions of newer players with domains aged under 3 years. Studying their SEO strategies and evaluating their effectiveness against more established competitors can reveal promising approaches and trends.
As a result, New Zealand showed the best performance.
Once the choice is made, the next step involves a deeper analysis of market players and their metrics, specifically:
The process is similar to the previous analysis but conducted on a larger sample. This time, we analyzed 40 competitors in the New Zealand market, as it was our chosen GEO. The results are as follows:
The analysis of the final point allows us to estimate the amount of work needed to catch up with the market leader in terms of traffic. However, it’s important to understand that the outcome will be influenced not only by the volume of backlinks but also by the factors listed above.
Special attention is given to analyzing newer market players, carefully studying their content publication strategies and link-building profiles.
Thanks to such thorough analysis, we can optimize our clients’ expenses and time. Based on the data obtained, we develop three effective SEO strategy options, taking into account the budget and desired pace of achieving goals in the chosen GEO.
Want to get the same comprehensive analysis for your business? Sign up for a strategic session with us! We will thoroughly examine your situation and develop a personalized strategy to help you conquer the top positions in Google search results.
When selecting a GEO for SEO promotion, it’s important to consider both primary and regional ranking factors.Primary Factors: These are universal factors that affect a website’s ranking in search engine results across all regions. They include:
Wondering what regional ranking factors exist? To achieve high positions in search results for a target region, SEO optimization must take regional specifics into account.
Here are several key aspects to consider:
By incorporating these geo-targeted SEO strategies into your overall optimization efforts, you will significantly improve your website’s visibility and ranking in specific regions.
Choosing the right GEO is like piecing together a puzzle, where every element matters.
Before launching an online casino in a specific country, you should conduct a detailed analysis of:
Focus on content localization, keyword research, and SEO strategy optimization to achieve success in your chosen market. Only then will you have a complete puzzle.
Consult with professionals to avoid mistakes in your choice and to have a step-by-step structured action plan that will deliver the expected ROI.
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